Written Answers Wednesday 6 December 2006

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make certain that the National Alcohol Information Resource will ensure that alcohol and drug action teams’ corporate action plans provide information which distinguishes (a) drug clients from alcohol clients and (b) family members seeking counselling from substance users needing help and which does not repeatedly count a client who is passed from one agency to another as a new client at each move.

Lewis Macdonald: We are currently in discussion with the National Alcohol Information Resource (NAIR) about the information that is collected about people in contact with alcohol services.

  NAIR does not specify the information that is provided in corporate action plans; this is agreed by the Executive and local alcohol and drug action teams as part of annual accountability arrangements.

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26185 by Hugh Henry on 16 June 2006, whether it intends that information on the number of young people undergoing rehabilitation as a result of alcohol misuse will be held centrally and, if so, when this will be achieved.

Lewis Macdonald: We are currently in discussion with the National Alcohol Information Resource (NAIR) about the information that is collected about people in contact with alcohol services.

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what data it holds on the number of young people aged 16 and under who receive rehabilitation treatment as a result of alcohol misuse.

Lewis Macdonald: Information on the number of young people undergoing rehabilitation as a result of alcohol misuse is not held centrally.

Bail, Judicial Appointments etc. (Scotland) Act 2000

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Bail, Judicial Appointments etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Cathy Jamieson: The Standing Orders of the Scottish Parliament require all Executive bills on introduction to be accompanied by a Financial Memorandum which sets out the best estimates of the administrative, compliance and other costs to which the provisions of the bill would give rise, best estimates of the timescales over which such costs would be expected to arise, and an indication of the margins of uncertainty in such estimates. The Financial Memorandum must distinguish separately such costs as would fall upon (a) the Scottish administration, (b) local authorities and (c) other bodies, individuals and businesses. These memoranda are freely available on the Parliament’s website.

  By way of comparable information actual initial set up costs and annual costs for the year 2005-06 in the same categories as the Financial Memoranda is as follows:

  

 Actual


 Executive
 Local Authorities
 Other


 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual


£1 million
£1.5 million
 0
 0
 0
 0

Convention Rights (Compliance) (Scotland) Act 2001

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Convention Rights (Compliance) (Scotland) Act 2001 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Cathy Jamieson: The Standing Orders of the Scottish Parliament require all Executive bills on introduction to be accompanied by a Financial Memorandum which sets out the best estimates of the administrative, compliance and other costs to which the provisions of the bill would give rise, best estimates of the timescales over which such costs would be expected to arise, and an indication of the margins of uncertainty in such estimates. The Financial Memorandum must distinguish separately such costs as would fall upon (a) the Scottish administration, (b) local authorities and (c) other bodies, individuals and businesses. These memoranda are freely available on the Parliament’s website.

  By way of comparable information actual initial set up costs and annual costs for the year 2005-06 in the same categories as the Financial Memoranda is as follows.

  

 Actual


 Executive
 Local Authorities
 Other


 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual


 0
£386,000 
 0
 0
 0
 0

Data Protection Act 1998

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether information contained in reports by court-appointed solicitors is subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Cathy Jamieson: The information contained in reports, lodged in court by court-appointed solicitors, is subject to the provisions of the data protection legislation unless that information has been disclosed in open court.

Debt

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22434 by Allan Wilson on 27 January 2006, whether it will provide an update on the level of debt (a) in total and (b) on average which people using the Debt Arrangement Scheme have had since it came into force, broken down by local authority area.

Allan Wilson: Local Authority Area
Total Debt to 
27 November 2006
Average Debt per DPP to 
27 November 2006


 Aberdeen City
 0
 Nil


 Aberdeenshire
 0
 Nil


 Angus
 0
 Nil


 Argyll and Bute
£524,140.05
£26,207.01


 Clackmannanshire
£28,481.60
£9,493.87


 Dumfries and Galloway
£368,661.88
£14,746.48


 Dundee City
 0
 Nil


 East Ayrshire
 0
 Nil


 East Dunbartonshire
£18,374.74
£18,374.74


 East Lothian
£142,982.61
£71,491.31


 East Renfrewshire
£268,469.95
£26,846.99


 Edinburgh City
£69,673.87
£8,709.23


 Falkirk
£35,131.49
£35,131.49


 Fife
£66,451.20
£13,290.24


 Glasgow City
£299,311.89
£27,210.17


 Highland
£94,534.94
£31,511.65


 Inverclyde
£3,204.00
£3,204.00


 Midlothian
 0
 Nil


 Moray
£19,736.00
£19,736.00


 North Ayrshire
£137,387.06
£34,346.77


 North Lanarkshire
£1,000,108.90
£7,693.15


 Orkney
 0
 Nil


 Perth and Kinross
£18,881.30
£18,881.30


 Renfrewshire
£27,940.96
£13,970.48


 Scottish Borders
 0
 Nil


 Shetland
 0
 Nil


 South Ayrshire
 0
 Nil


 South Lanarkshire
£93,522.06
£9,352.21


 Stirling
 0
 Nil


 West Dunbartonshire
 0
 Nil


 West Lothian
 0
 Nil


 Western Isles
 0
 Nil


 Scotland
£3,216,995.50
£13,516.79

Drug Misuse

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been charged with possession of crystal methamphetamine since 2001.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Possession of Methylamphetamine1, 2001-02 to 2004-05

  

 Year
 Number


 2001-02
 2


 2002-03
 5


 2003-04
 3


 2004-05
 1



  Note: 1. Where main offence. Figures may be underestimates as information on drug type is not known for some possession offences.

Drug Misuse

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been convicted of possession of crystal methamphetamine since 2001.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Possession of Methylamphetamine1, 2001-02 to 2004-05

  

 Year
 Number


 2001-02
 2


 2002-03
 5


 2003-04
 3


 2004-05
 1



  Note: 1. Where main offence. Figures may be underestimates as information on drug type is not known for some possession offences.

External Relations

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has allocated to promote and represent Scottish interests in the United States of America in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive represents and promotes Scotland in the USA through the Scottish Affairs Office based in the British Embassy in Washington DC. That office was established in October 2001. The budget spend for that office since 1999 is as follows:

  

 Financial Year
 Budget for Scottish Affairs Office


 1999–2000
 N/A


 2000–01
 N/A


 2001–02
£150,000


 2002–03
£155,000


 2003–04
£195,000


 2004–05
£247,000


 2005–06
£236,000


 2006–07
£264,000



  The Executive has also allocated funds separately to support Tartan Week in the USA since 2002. Those allocations are as follows:

  

 Tartan Week
 Budget


 2002
£220,000


 2003
£30,000


 2004
£200,000


 2005
£480,000


 2006
£660,000


 2007
£500,000

Fuel Poverty

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been in fuel poverty in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Chisholm: Fuel poverty estimates are available only for the years for which house condition surveys were conducted. The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) estimated that in 1996, 738,000 households (35%) in Scotland were in fuel poverty. The 2002 survey estimated that 286,000 households (13%) were in fuel poverty. In the year from October 2003 to September 2004, 328,000 households (14.5%) in Scotland were estimated to be in fuel poverty.

Further and Higher Education

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, lecturing staff in higher education institutions currently hold the Teaching Qualification (Further Education) or equivalent recognised qualification.

Nicol Stephen: This information is not held centrally.

Further and Higher Education

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive which body is responsible for setting the occupational standards for lecturers in further education colleges and higher education institutions.

Nicol Stephen: Under the Teachers (Education, Training and Recommendation for Registration) (Scotland) Regulations 1993, Scottish ministers determine the duration and approve the content and nature of the Teaching Qualification in Further Education (TQ(FE)). To fulfil the requirements of the 1993 regulations, officials in the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department take advice from the Professional Development Forum (PDF), an expert group of experienced college practitioners. The PDF has developed a comprehensive set of professional standards which underpin all TQ(FE) programmes in Scotland.

  There are no corresponding regulations relating to teachers in higher education institutions.

Health

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to tackle childhood obesity.

Mr Andy Kerr: We are already tackling childhood obesity through the implementation of our diet and physical activity strategies. We have already introduced nutrition guidance for early education and childcare settings, funded over 600 Active Schools Co-ordinators, implemented the Hungry for Success programme which we are supporting through legislation with the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) Bill, invested £5 million to encourage children to walk and cycle to school, and we continue to work towards making every school a Health Promoting School by 2007. We have also promoted health improvement messages to children and their families through our healthyliving campaign and the distribution of materials through NHS Health Scotland.

  We will continue to support the delivery of Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network 69, published in 2003 which provided advice to general practitioners about managing childhood obesity through behaviour change by ensuring that there are opportunities for children to eat healthily and be more active. However, we must also recognise that parents play a significant role in ensuring that their children have the opportunity to make the healthy choice.

Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Health and Community Care has made a statement on endorsing the video about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy produced by the Cardiomyopathy Association in 2002.

Mr Andy Kerr: My predecessor as Minister for Health and Community Care issued a letter to general practices in 2002 supporting the Cardiomyopathy Association’s video on Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider collating up-to-date information on levels of cardiomyopathy.

Mr Andy Kerr: Numbers of those with cardiomyopathy are available from hospital discharges, death registrations and contacts in General Practice, but these sources identify only those who have been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy.

  Data on the number of patients admitted to Scottish hospitals with a diagnosis of cardiomyopathy in the year ending March 2006 and number of deaths from cardiomyopathy in the year ending December 2005 are shown in the following table.

  Cardiomyopathy Cases in Scotland: Latest Available Figures

  

 Deaths registered in 2005
 96


 Hospital episodes in 2005-06P
 2,072


 Patients seen in hospital in 2005-06P
 1,021



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  PProvisional.

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm that no further independent sector treatment centre projects will commence until the Stracathro Hospital pilot is completed, assessed and audited.

Mr Andy Kerr: I have no plans to introduce further independent sector treatment projects within Scotland at present.

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the signed contract with Netcare for an independent sector treatment centre at Stracathro Hospital will be placed in the public domain.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive which body has the authority to place the signed contract with Netcare for an independent sector treatment centre at Stracathro Hospital in the public domain.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS Tayside intends to be open and transparent about the contractual arrangements with Amicus Healthcare (Scotland) Ltd, a subsidiary of Netcare and will publish as much information as possible relating to the contract in the near future.

Marine Environment

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive which non-lethal seal management options have been trialled as part of the Moray Firth Seal Management Plan.

Rhona Brankin: Current research projects supported by the Executive, include evaluation or trials of the general effectiveness of several Acoustic Deterrent Devices (ADDs) against seals and the deployment of ADDs within rivers in order to deter seals from a specific area of river and as a barrier to upstream movement of seals.

NHS Staff

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what systems it has in place to monitor the impact of the NHS consultants’ contract and other pay agreements on staff performance and service outputs.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive Health Department is clear about the need to fully realise the benefits of the new contracts. In 2005 the department set out its requirements for health boards to develop plans to ensure that they maximised the benefits to patients of the major investment made in Pay Modernisation through the new Consultant and GMS contracts and Agenda for Change.

  These plans highlight how the tools provided by Pay Modernisation have helped to achieve service improvements and support delivery of key NHS priorities such as National access/waiting targets, improved delivery of unscheduled care, and integrated service and workforce planning.

  The latest Pay Modernisation Benefits Realisation Plans were submitted by boards in March 2006. Boards progress in relation to these plans is monitored on an on-going basis as part of routine service management.

National Health Service

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many attacks there have been on hospital patients by other patients in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: We do not hold information on these matters centrally. However, we expect NHS boards to have robust risk management arrangements in place to minimise the risk of violence, whether to staff, patients or visitors. Boards are also expected to operate effective reporting and governance arrangements so that any learning which might emerge from their analysis of an incident is swiftly implemented.

Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce seasonal cash grants to help low income families.

Malcolm Chisholm: We currently have no plans to introduce seasonal cash grants. However, we will discuss the proposal with our colleagues in the UK Government as part of our on-going dialogue with them about how to tackle child poverty across the UK.

Prison Service

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there have been against prisoners for violent attacks on Scottish Prison Service staff in each year since 1997.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Prosecution is a matter for the Crown Office Procurator Fiscals Office who do not routinely inform the SPS of such cases.

Prison Service

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prison officers have been employed in the Scottish Prison Service in (a) Scotland and (b) Saughton prison in Edinburgh in each year from 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  (a) I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23896 on 20 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  (b) The number of Prison Officers Employed since April 2000 to April 2006 in HM Prison Edinburgh is:

  

 1 April 2000
 387


 1 April 2001
 376


 1 April 2002
 386


 1 April 2003
 381


 1 April 2004
 343


 1 April 2005
 323


 1 April 2006
 313

Prison Service

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prison officers are projected to be employed in the Scottish Prison Service in (a) Scotland and (b) Saughton prison in Edinburgh in each year from 2007 to 2011.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service project staff numbers over a 12 month period only:

  (a) No of Prison Officers projected to be employed in the Scottish Prison Service:

  

No of Prison Officers
November
2006
December
2006
January
2007
February
2007
March
2007
April
2007
May
2007
June
2007
July
2007
August
2007
September
2007
December
2007


 2,849
 2,838
 2,838
 2,864
 2,864
 2,864
 2,864
 2,864
 2,900
 2,900
 2,900
 2,900



  (b) No of Prison Officers projected to be employed in HM Prison Edinburgh:

  

No of Prison Officers
 November 2006
 December 2006
 January 2007
 February 2007
 March 2007
 April 2007
 May 2007
 June 2007
 July 2007
 August 2007
 September 2007
 December 2007


310
310
310
310
310
310
310
310
310
310
310
310

Prison Service

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected average daily prison population is for (a) Scotland and (b) Saughton prison in Edinburgh in each year from 2007 to 2011.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  (a) The information is in the Prison Population Projections, Scotland, 2006-2007 to 2015-2016 News Release which SPS published on 10 November 2006 and is on the SPS website at www.sps.gov.uk.

  On (b), projections are not done by prison.

Prison Service

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which organisation carries out the monitoring and scrutiny of conditions when individuals are held in cells in court, in the same way that prison visiting committees carry out this function for individuals held in prisons.

Cathy Jamieson: Under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) has a statutory responsibility "to inspect the conditions in which prisoners are transported or held in pursuance of prisoner escort arrangements." This includes custodies held in cells on court premises.

Public Private Partnerships

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on external consultants and advisers by (a) the First Minister’s office and (b) each Executive department in each year since 1999-2000 and what the projected costs are for 2006-07.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which external consultants were used by each of its (a) departments and (b) agencies on projects excluding private finance initiatives and public private partnerships in each year since 1999 and what the (i) nature and (ii) cost of the consultants’ work was in each case.

Mr Tom McCabe: The First Minister’s office does not directly employ external consultants. For the Executive’s departments, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-29856 on 24 November 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether at any time since 1997 the legal or any other expenses of the trade union Unison were authorised to be paid by the Executive or any related body in connection with Unison’s representation of any Scottish Criminal Record Office experts or in connection with any other matter related to the Shirley McKie case and, if so, when, why, for what purpose and on whose authority such monies were paid and how much was paid.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive is not aware of any expenses being paid to Unison in connection with the Shirley McKie case other than those detailed in the answer to question S2W-25336 on 5 June 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Senior Judiciary (Vacancies and Incapacity) (Scotland) Act 2006

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Senior Judiciary (Vacancies and Incapacity) (Scotland) Act 2006 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) costs have been to date since the act came into force, in each category.

Cathy Jamieson: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Parliament’s website. No costs have been incurred as a result of the act.

Sexual Offences (Procedure and Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2002

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Sexual Offences (Procedure and Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2002 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Cathy Jamieson: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. The only significant costs identified in the Financial Memorandum were expected to be incurred by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. The Executive has no reason to believe that actual costs vary substantially from the estimate of £250,000 per year.

Telecommunications

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Airwave base stations will have been installed by 31 December 2006 and how many will be installed (a) in 2007, (b) in 2008 and (c) after 2008 in Scotland for use by police and other public services.

Cathy Jamieson: The Airwave network was completed in April 2005 and currently has 632 sites in Scotland. I do not expect this number to change in 2007 or 2008.

Telecommunications

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Airwave base stations which will have been installed by 31 December 2006 and will be installed (a) in 2007, (b) in 2008 and (c) after 2008 in Scotland for use by police and other public services would still be operational after a (i) 24-hour and (ii) 72-hour period without mains power.

Cathy Jamieson: Airwave is a cellular system which does not rely on individual base stations remaining operational at all times. If one base station is busy or goes down the terminal is automatically re-routed through another. O2, the service provider, is contracted to provide guaranteed radio coverage rather than a set number of base stations. All 632 Airwave sites in Scotland have a backup battery that provides power for a minimum of five hours in the event of a mains power cut. In addition around 50% of Scottish sites have permanent back-up generators that will provide power for a minimum of seven days. This is expected to increase to 60% of sites by the end of 2007. I am advised that this provision is sufficient to maintain full nationwide coverage and operational effectiveness.

Telecommunications

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what account has been taken of the views of UK Resilience, the information service for emergency practitioners run by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, in planning the Airwave network to be installed in Scotland for use by police and other public services.

Cathy Jamieson: The Airwave Network was installed in line with UK Resilience.